Technical Abstract:
Developing alternative protein ingredients for aquafeeds that support fish growth and are economically feasible has been a primary task for world aquaculture. Due to abundant production, oilseeds and cereals have been the major sources of alternative proteins. Oilseeds, such as soybeans, have high protein content, but contain many biologically active compounds that are growth inhibitive and/or toxic to fish. Cereals, such as corn, wheat and barley, on the other hand, contain fewer biologically active compounds, but are also lower in protein content. Following industrial processing, many by-products of oilseeds and cereals are generated and available in the market, including oilseed meals, corn gluten meal, and distillers’ grains. These products are protein-enriched, but without further processing they are often not readily applicable in feed formulation, or only applicable at lower than expected levels. In this presentation, various processing methods and technology platforms are discussed for developing and improving protein ingredients of plant origin, including solvent extraction, wet and dry fractionation, and biological concentration. It is clear that accomplishing the aforementioned task is challenging and requires combined efforts of all the major scientific disciplines that collectively constitute aquaculture.